Kemper said the 2-year-old leopard is often given blankets and fabric toys and was likely only trying to play with the woman's jacket.

"He was just being playful," Kemper said. "But even when they don't intend to hurt us, they have all the tools to do so. (Our bodies) just can't stand up to it."

Kemper said although Leopard had worked in the area before, she was not authorized to be there at that time and was not following zoo protocol which requires zookeepers to use a buddy system in that area.

"She just simply made a mistake," Kemper said. "We are going to continue to support her and encourage her to move forward."